Rekindle
Jiang Ai widened her eyes. “What?”
At this point, what nonsense was he talking about? How could he escape from the illusions of the Nine Palaces Maze Prison after his Heart Candle was extinguished?
The Heart Candle flickered in mid-air for a moment before its light was swallowed by the darkness.
In an instant, darkness surged forth like a torrent, engulfing the young man and disappearing from Jiang Ai’s sight, along with those bright eyes. Jiang Ai held her own Heart Candle high and shouted, “Kid, kid!”
There was no echo, no sign of anyone. There was only boundless darkness, like the belly of a beast swallowing all sound. Even Bai Sanxing, who had just appeared, vanished. As the palace shifted, Duan Xu’s illusion also took him away.
Jiang Ai gritted her teeth and shouted, “I promise! You find a way to come out alive!”
Otherwise, she estimated that she would be the next one imprisoned in the Nine Palaces Maze.
Jiang Ai dashed out from the entrance of the Nine Palaces Maze and instantly appeared in front of the palace hall. She didn’t care about her usual dignity anymore. As she climbed the steps, she called out, “Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Simu!”
As soon as the word “Simu” fell, the crimson figure of He Simu instantly appeared in front of Jiang Ai. Jiang Ai almost collided with He Simu.
He Simu still held a document in her hand. She must have been dealing with matters just now. She snapped her fingers, and the document turned into smoke. Frowning, she asked, “What’s wrong?”
Jiang Ai grabbed He Simu’s wrist and said, “Bai Sanxing hasn’t turned to ashes yet. He’s still in the Nine Palaces Maze!”
He Simu was stunned and exclaimed, “You went to the Nine Palaces Maze? Did you encounter him?”
Bai Sanxing was the former Lord of the Ghost Palace before Yan Ke. After the previous Ghost King’s death, he rebelled and became the most powerful force in the ghost rebellion. At its peak, five ghost palaces were attached to him. He was also the only evil ghost who could contend with He Simu. Later, He Simu, Jiang Ai, and the then Deputy Lord of the Ghost Palace, Yan Ke, joined forces to deceive Bai Sanxing into the Nine Palaces Maze and extinguish his Heart Candle to keep him trapped.
If Bai Sanxing hadn’t been imprisoned in the Nine Palaces Maze, He Simu wouldn’t have been able to quell the rebellion so quickly.
“Well… and then…” Jiang Ai sighed and said, “Your little friend, his Heart Candle was cut off by Bai Sanxing and he’s lost in the Nine Palaces Maze.”
“That kid is probably not coming back.”
He Simu’s gaze sharpened, and she suddenly tightened her grip on Jiang Ai’s arm.
Seeing He Simu, Jiang Ai, and Yan Ke gathered together, the Xu Sheng couldn’t help but feel apprehensive, just like his name—shaky.
He stared with his pure white, pupil-less eyes, thinking that being the gatekeeper was getting harder and harder. When the wife of the former Ghost King came, he didn’t let her pass and ended up being scolded. This time, when the fiancé of the current Ghost King came, he learned his lesson and let him pass. How come the fiancé still ended up getting trapped inside?
“Kid wanted to go in himself. Jiang Ai can testify for me! I gave him the Heart Candle properly, who knew he…” The Guardian loudly defended himself, his eyes darting rapidly on the acacia wood gate.
He Simu raised her hand to stop him. She wore a crimson gown with golden begonia patterns, and her gaze was as cold as the silver tassels on her forehead.
She said, “Give me a Heart Candle, and I’ll go in and find him.”
Yan Ke stepped forward to stop her, frowning tightly. “Simu, he has lost his Heart Candle. Not to mention that you won’t be able to find him even if you go in, and even if you do find him, you won’t be able to bring him out. Moreover, Bai Sanxing is still in there. If he does anything to you, you’ll be in danger.”
He Simu said, “I’ve entered the Nine Palaces Maze dozens of times before and never encountered Bai Sanxing. Moreover, he has been imprisoned for hundreds of years, and his power has been greatly diminished. He is no longer my opponent.”
“But that kid is already lost in the illusions. Without a Heart Candle, he can’t get out of the Nine Palaces Maze.” Jiang Ai also tried to persuade, admitting that she had no good solutions. Even Bai Sanxing, such a powerful evil ghost, would be trapped in the Nine Palaces Maze forever if he lost his Heart Candle. What could a mortal child do?
Furthermore, the maze was full of hungry ghosts who had been starving for decades or even centuries. If the child didn’t get lost and eaten by them, it would be strange. She could only declare his funeral here.
But He Simu shook her head. She said, “Our fates are intertwined. If I find him and guide his Heart Candle to rekindle on mine, he might wake up.”
He Simu’s words surprised Jiang Ai and Yan Ke greatly. Yan Ke even grabbed He Simu’s shoulder and exclaimed, “What are you saying? Let him use your Heart Candle? What if he doesn’t wake up and extinguishes your Heart Candle? Then you’ll both be lost in the Nine Palaces Maze forever! Do you want to become the next Bai Sanxing? You can’t go!”
He Simu looked calmly at Yan Ke. She said, “Let go, Yan Ke. He’s a living person, and he’ll die. The longer he stays in the maze, the more dangerous it becomes.”
“I won’t let go. How could you… How could you go to such lengths for just a mortal?” Yan Ke was angry and incredulous.
He Simu’s gaze flickered, and the wind around her surged for a moment. Fine threads of wind curled up, pushing Yan Ke away by unfolding his hand.
She said each word slowly, “There’s no such thing as ‘just a mortal.’ Duan Xu is my bound person. He belongs to me, and I want him to live in this world. He can’t die.”
He Simu walked straight to the gate and took her Heart Candle from the Guardian’s eyes. When the flame of the Heart Candle brightened, she disappeared into the chaotic darkness as the gate opened.
The moment she disappeared, the strong wind that stopped Yan Ke disappeared as well. Jiang Ai didn’t even try to stop He Simu. She helplessly said to Yan Ke, “You still don’t understand her. You can’t stop her.”
Yan Ke’s gaze darkened.
Inside the Nine Palaces Maze, He Simu held up her Heart Candle and took out the Bound Curse Pearl, calling out, “Go find Duan Xu!”
A soft beam of light emanated from the Bound Curse Pearl in the boundless darkness, pointing forward. He Simu followed the direction of the light, occasionally calling out for Duan Xu, Duan Shunxi, and even Little Duan Xu.
Intermittent cries of agony echoed in her ears, but none of them were Duan Xu’s voice.
He was as silent as a drop of water falling into an ocean, with no trace to be found.
Following the direction of the pearl, He Simu continued walking. The pearl displayed Duan Xu’s path in the Nine Palaces Maze. He had passed through the Gate of Shock, the Gate of Repose, the Gate of Wounds, and even crossed the Gate of Death. Along the way, he seemed to experience countless illusions, but unlike the lost ghosts who wandered aimlessly in the maze, his path was surprisingly clear.
When He Simu passed through the Gate of Scenery, she even wondered if Duan Xu hadn’t fallen into an illusion and had walked out of the Gate of Life by himself.
As she pondered this, the light from the pearl suddenly reached its end. Within the range of her Heart Candle’s light, she saw a section of a sword pointing straight at her, its cold light shining.
It was the Illusion-breaking Sword.
He Simu halted her steps. The sword gradually entered the range of light, inching closer to her throat. She saw a pair of black boots stepping into the light, followed by a figure clad in a black round-collar robe, tied-back hair in a high ponytail, and a black-silver forehead.
The varying shades of black on his clothes, ranging from deep to light, extended to his face, presumably from the blood of ghosts he had killed along the way. His cap had disappeared somewhere, revealing his handsome and sharp face, along with a pair of dark eyes. Those eyes, like the endless surging waves when he was in the heat of battle, emitted a scattered light without focus.
He Simu thought, she had underestimated the Nine Palaces Maze and overestimated Duan Xu. He was indeed trapped in the illusion.
But not entirely. He seemed to sense her presence, after all, he could accurately point his sword at her.
He Simu didn’t know what he saw and heard, nor did she know what she looked like in his eyes at this moment. She just put away the Bound Curse Pearl securely in her arms, then raised her eyes to look at his unfocused eyes, calling out, “Duan Xu.”
The moment her voice fell, Duan Xu’s Illusion-breaking Sword pressed against her throat.
Duan Xu was not a ghost, she couldn’t summon him by name, but she felt that his name was like a spell to him. He had reiterated countless times, requested countless times for her to call him by his name.
“Duan Xu, I’m He Simu.”
He Simu didn’t evade, allowing the Illusion-breaking Sword to cut into her neck, drawing blood and depleting her mana. She spoke each word slowly, “Duan Xu, wake up.”
She reached out and grabbed the hilt of his sword. Pale and greyish hands oozed dark red blood, flowing down the blade inscribed with the words “Illusion-breaking,” which faintly emitted light.
In her mind, she thought, Illusion-breaking Sword, since you have chosen him, then let me guide him once again.
Duan Xu’s blood-red eyes seemed to tremble. He closed his eyes as if struggling to break free from something, then opened them again.
The sword against He Simu’s throat slowly lowered. He seemed to still be in the illusion, confused and fragile, staggering as if he understood Simu’s words yet didn’t.
“He Simu,” he murmured.
“Yes,” she replied.
“He Simu.”
“It’s me.”
Step by step, he approached He Simu, calling her name softly, his gaze passing through her body, unsure where it landed in the illusion.
Duan Xu stumbled to her, paused for a moment, and then reached out his hand as if blind, groping until he touched He Simu’s arm.
Then his hand followed the smooth silk of her sleeve downward, grasping her limp wrist, enveloping her hand. Finger by finger, their hands intertwined, holding each other tightly.
He Simu’s hand had just been cut by the Illusion-breaking Sword, fingers stained with blood, tinting his hand red.
“What are you doing?” He Simu looked at their clasped hands.
She didn’t expect an answer from Duan Xu, but she heard him softly reply, “Holding onto… your heart.”
He raised his eyes, and in his blood-red gaze, a faint glimmer seemed to appear. He gently smiled, leaning down to embrace He Simu, as if releasing all his strength from the surprise attack on the enemy camp, entrusting this heavy burden to her.
“You are truly He Simu, no pulse, cold blood, and your body carries the scent of my agarwood,” he murmured.
He Simu patted Duan Xu’s back, his forehead against her neck. She looked at the Door of Life right in front of her, thinking that if they had arrived a moment later, he might have been able to reach the door, maybe even reignite his Heart Candle by his own strength.
“Yes, I’m here to pick you up,” she said softly.
“You’re here to pick me up?” Duan Xu repeated, burying his head in He Simu’s neck, chuckling softly.
“It’s wonderful, He Simu is here to pick me up. It’s the first time in my life that someone has come to pick me up.”
As he finished speaking, He Simu heard the sound of the Illusion-breaking Sword hitting the ground, his arm falling from behind her. He Simu half-knelt on the ground, supporting his shoulders, the Pearl emitting a bright light between them, the spell rapidly circulating.
The Heart Candle in her hand flickered, the blue flame splitting to become half blue and half red, burning together strangely.
Just now, Yan Ke said that if Duan Xu still couldn’t wake up after receiving her Heart Candle, she would extinguish her own Heart Candle as well. But she had never worried about it, as if she believed he would wake up like the changing of day and night.
The time this young general spent by her side was only a short period, compared to her long life, like a drop in the river. But she could clearly see his reflection in this drop, inscribed with the words “Heart as firm as a rock, fearless before gods and buddhas.”
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